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Bartemius Crouch Junior
Bartemius "Barty" Crouch Junior (born 1962 - given the Dementor's Kiss in 1995) was a pure-blood wizard and the son of Bartemius Crouch Sr. and Mrs. Crouch. He left school at the height of Lord Voldemort's first reign of power and became a Death Eater. In 1981, shortly after Voldemort's first defeat, Barty attacked Alice and Frank Longbottom with the Lestranges, using the Cruciatus Curse to drive the two Aurors into insanity. Barty and his comrades were sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban for their crimes by Barty's own father. However, his mother plotted to switch places with him, and Barty spent years living under his father's Imperius Curse. He eventually broke free and again entered Voldemort's service, posing as Alastor Moody, the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts during the 1994–1995 school year. In this role, Barty manipulated the Triwizard Tournament so that Harry Potter was chosen as a champion, and turned the Triwizard Cup into a Portkey that transported Harry and Cedric Diggory to Voldemort. Shortly afterwards, his identity was exposed, and Barty was given the Dementor's Kiss by a dementor bodyguard that Fudge brought in to protect himself. Biography Early Life Barty was born in 1962 into the influential pure-blood Crouch family, which had strong connections to the Ministry of Magic. His father, intent on catching Dark Wizards and becoming Minister for Magic, failed to pay any attention to his son. It is very possible that this had an influence on the younger Crouch's life choices.Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Allegiance with Death Eaters .]] After Lord Voldemort's first defeat in 1981, Barty fell in with Death Eaters. He was captured with Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Rabastan Lestrange after they tortured the Aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom with the Cruciatus Curse. He and the other Death Eaters were brought to trial before the Wizengamot, over which his father presided. Barty was insistent on his innocence, claiming he had merely fallen in with the wrong crowd, and begged his father before the entire assembled Wizengamot and witnesses such as Rita Skeeter and Albus Dumbledore to clear him of any wrongdoing. Crouch Sr. at the time headed the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and was under extreme pressure to bring anyone to justice over the terrorism caused by Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters. He chose to make a public example of his son, and sentenced him to a term of life imprisonment in Azkaban at the age of nineteen.Goblet of Fire, Ch. 30 One year later, Barty's mother's health had deteriorated drastically from the stress of her son's imprisonment, and she was near death. The family formed a plan to smuggle Barty out of Azkaban by swapping him for his mother. Using Polyjuice Potion, and undetected by the Dementors, Mrs. Crouch took the place of her son. She died just days later, and was buried outside the fortress under the guise of her son. Imprisonment with his father Barty's father was overcome with grief and guilt, and opted to control him via the Imperius Curse to keep the horrible ordeal a secret (also to prevent him from returning to Voldemort's service). He also forced Barty to hide under an Invisibility cloak at all times. Throughout his time in hiding, Barty was nursed back to health by Winky, the family house-elf. Bertha Jorkins, a Ministry of Magic employee, discovered the truth accidentally when she came unannounced to the Crouch home. Crouch Sr. rectified this with a powerful Memory Charm. Too powerful, in fact, as she suffered permanent brain damage. Years later, Peter Pettigrew, under orders from Lord Voldemort, extracted this information from her while looking for information on the Triwizard Tournament, which was to be held at Hogwarts. Voldemort murdered Jorkins, and the Ministry deemed her "missing" for months. Quidditch World Cup campsite.]] Barty was sent to the 1994 Quidditch World Cup under cover of the Invisibility Cloak along with Winky, where by chance he sat in a skybox alongside Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. During the Quidditch match, Barty broke free of the Imperius Curse his father had placed on him. Sickened by his father's actions, Barty decided to get revenge, and stole Harry's wand, which was in view. He then escaped Winky's watch over him, as she was so afraid of heights in the skybox that she covered her eyes for the entire Quidditch match. in 1994.]] After the World Cup was through, Barty added to the havoc and chaos being caused by a gaggle of Death Eaters by casting Morsmordre in the sky over the campsite grounds. Because he used Harry's wand to cast the spell, during the course of the investigation of the appearance of the Dark Mark, Harry was considered a suspect. However, the only individual punished that night was Winky, stemming from the rage Crouch Sr. felt over losing control of his son. Shortly after, Pettigrew and Lord Voldemort, who needed a loyal follower to help him regain power, managed to free Barty from his father's imprisonment. They put Crouch Sr. under the Imperius Curse and forced him to keep working at the Ministry as he usually would. Disguised as Alastor Moody , enlarging a spider for a class.]] As part of his servitude as a Death Eater, Barty was charged with infiltrating Hogwarts Castle and bringing Harry to Lord Voldemort. Barty accomplished this by breaking into former Auror Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody's home and kidnapping him. He created Polyjuice Potion from Moody's hair and concealed the Auror in his own magical trunk. He then proceeded to take over Moody's job at Hogwarts, teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts. He was able to maintain his disguise for months undetected by consistently sipping the potion from a hip flask; he did so in plain view of students and staff and it was generally assumed that he was drinking something alcoholic (Crouch, as Moody, at one point told his students it was a case of him choosing to prepare his own food and drink rather than trust others with the task). Barty used his time at Hogwarts to gain the trust of children and associates of Order of the Phoenix members. During his first lesson for a group of Fourth year students, he demonstrated all three Unforgivable Curses on three different spiders.Goblet of Fire, Ch. 14 and, controversially, later also the Imperius Curse on the students themselves, although he claimed to have had permission to do so, in order to teach them how to overcome it. As a teacher, Barty-as-Moody was actually quite effective, and despite his ulterior motives, his teaching of how to overcome curses such as the Imperius was valuable. But Barty wasn't at Hogwarts to mould future wizards. Barty entered Harry Potter's name into the Goblet of Fire to ensure Harry's placement for Lord Voldemort's gain. Barty then helped Harry on the three Tasks, either by placing information nearby (like when he gave a book with crucial information on how to pass the Second Task to Neville Longbottom, hoping that Harry would ask Neville for help), or directly (like when he suggested Harry to take a broomstick to the First Task). During the events surrounding the Tournament, Crouch Sr. escaped from his home and Apparated near Hogwarts, where he wandered in his confusion in search of Dumbledore. He came upon Harry Potter and Viktor Krum, who raised the alarm that Crouch was in trouble. Barty arrived at the scene before anyone else, stunned Viktor Krum, and killed his father. He transfigured his father's body into a bone and buried it in the Forbidden Forest. Before the third and final task of the Tournament, Barty volunteered to place the Triwizard Cup in a maze through which the contestants were to navigate. He took advantage of this opportunity to turn the Triwizard Cup into a Portkey which transported Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory to a graveyard when they grasped it together. It was at this time that Peter Pettigrew performed the horrible ritual to restore Lord Voldemort's physical body, using Harry Potter's blood, Pettigrew's own hand, and Tom Riddle Sr.'s bone from the grave. , McGonagall and Severus Snape.]] Exposure When Harry escaped the graveyard and returned to Hogwarts, Barty ushered him away from the panicking crowd to interrogate him about Voldemort's return. He revealed to Harry that it was he all along who guided him through the Tournament. Barty then planned on killing Harry and be honored above the rest of Voldemort's followers. But before he could, Dumbledore, accompanied by McGonagall and Snape, fired a Stunner at him, having realized that he was not Moody when he removed Harry from his sight, his one slip up. The Polyjuice potion then wore off, just as Snape brought Winky in. Under the influence of Severus Snape's Veritaserum, Barty confessed everything.Goblet of Fire, Ch. 35 However, before he could testify before the Wizengamot, Barty suffered a fate worse than death, receiving the Dementor's Kiss on the orders of Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge. Fudge regarded Crouch as a raving lunatic, believing that he was thinking that he was acting for Voldemort and thus wasn't' convinced that he was back.Goblet of Fire, Ch. 36 Physical appearance In his youth, Barty was described as being a pale young man with straw-coloured hair and freckles. In his early thirties, he still had pale, slightly freckled skin and a "mop of fair hair". During his confession under Veritaserum, Barty's face would be contorted with a twisted smile, making it look absolutely violent and insane. For eight months, Barty has disguised himself as Alastor Moody through the usage of Polyjuice Potion. During this time, his face would be covered with scars, with missing chunks of his nose, and dark grey grizzled hair. He also took Moody's prosthetic, the magical eye and wooden leg, for his own. Personality and Traits Barty appears to have been highly intelligent, albeit in a rather diabolical way. It has been implied that he may have achieved twelve O.W.L.s while in Hogwarts. He also successfully impersonated Alastor Moody for eight months even around accomplished Legilimens Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape, taught Defence Against the Dark Arts in this role, and managed to manipulate the Triwizard Tournament to maneuver Harry Potter to win it. Thus, Barty was skilled at manipulating and mimicking others. He was also highly ruthless and fanatically devoted to Lord Voldemort, whom he seems to have regarded as a father figure. Barty also seems to be sadistic as well, given his participation in the extensive torture of the Longbottoms and his eagerness to hear that other Death Eaters had been punished for their lack of loyalty to Voldemort. His loyalty (and insanity) is matched only by fellow Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange. He also seems to know much of Voldemort's father, comparing with his own father. This may imply that Barty is aware of Voldemort's status of being half-blood, but does not care, in contradiction to the Death Eaters' belief of pure-blood supremacy. Barty's immense loyalty to Voldemort has turned him ungrateful against people who did favours for him out of love, mainly his mother and devoted house-elf Winky, both of whom sacrificed much for him to live a happy second chance. Part of Barty's behaviour may have stemmed from the fact that his father neglected him during his childhood, and later forced him to spend years under the Imperius Curse and in relative isolation, possibly affecting his mental stability. It may also be the year he spent in Azkaban, which like with all other prisoners, furthered his mental decline due to the Dementors'. Barty also loved Quidditch in his youth. Winky used this reason to persuade Barty Sr. to let his son attend the 1994 Quidditch World Cup, as a treat for his good behaviour (under the Imperius Curse). Barty Jr., on the other hand, used this as a chance to launch the Dark Mark into the air to frighten disloyal Death Eaters, which showed how ungrateful he is to Winky's kindness. Magical abilities and skills Barty was a very talented Dark Wizard, who was an academically strong student in his youth and became accomplished in the Dark Arts. It is most likely that he was among the most powerful Death Eaters of Voldemort, however less than Bellatrix Lestrange, Severus Snape and Voldemort himself. *'Morsmordre:' As a Death Eater, Barty is taught to launch the Dark Mark into the sky by Voldemort. This is usually used to signify the Death Eaters' works, but Barty used it to scare his unfaithful colleagues. *'The Unforgivable Curses:' He was able to perform all 3 Unforgivable Curses successfully and from a young age, considering that he used the Cruciatus Curse to devastating effect when he was only nineteen. While masquerading as professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, he demonstrated all three Unforgivable Curses on a spider. *'Skilled Potioneer:' Barty was a skilled potioneer, as he was capable of brewing the complicated Polyjuice Potion. *'Transfiguration expert:' Barty showed great skills in transfiguration, turning Draco Malfoy into a ferret, and his father's corpse into a bone. *'Wand mastery:' Barty was able to use wands other than his own, including Harry Potter's and Alastor Moody's, even performing difficult spells such as the Unforgivable Curses with them. *'Resistance to the Imperius Curse:' Around 1981, Barty was placed under the Imperius Curse by his father. After years, he managed to break free from the curse at certain times. *'Occlumens:' He was skilled in Occlumency as well. Had he not been weakened and groggy from having been attacked in 1995, he would have been able to use Occlumency to protect himself from the effects of Veritaserum.F.A.Q: Veritaserum at J.K. Rowling's Official Site Relationships Parents Barty's father, as a high-ranking Ministry official, spent his entire life dedicated to eradicating the dark forces, and as such, never paid any attention to his own son. When Barty Jr. was caught with other Death Eaters in the act of torturing Frank and Alice Longbottom to insanity, his father's parental affection extended to as much as giving him a trial, something he did not always give other suspects. In the end, the trial was merely to make an example out of his own son, and to publicly show how much he hated the boy and to disown him. Barty Sr. mercilessly sentenced his own son to Azkaban for life, but as a favour from his dying wife, smuggled him out of prison and kept him under control with the Imperius Curse for years to come. It was this sentence that cost Barty Sr. his chance to become Minister for Magic, his position as Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement's office, and his wife to suffer her last few days in Azkaban, which could further intensify his hatred for the boy. Barty Jr., in return, hated his father just as much. As his father never paid him any attention, it may have been what affected Barty's life choices. Being sent to Azkaban for one year and imprisoned in his own mind for twelve only increased the friction between father and son. Barty also claimed that he suffered the indignity of being named after his father, and showed intense sadistic glee of killing his father, as well as relishing in reliving the moment. However, Barty's mother loved him very much, and persuaded her husband to help him escape Azkaban. She was about to die when her son was imprisoned, so she was disguised as him and took his place at Azkaban. She died a few months later, and buried outside Azkaban. However, Barty was not exactly grateful, as he used this second chance that his mother died for to search for Lord Voldemort, rather than start afresh and repent for his crimes, going as far as to risk the life his mother died to set free. Winky Winky the house-elf was extremely loyal to the Crouch family, to the point of surpassing the mere house-elf's magical binding. She took care of Barty Jr. when he was smuggled out of Azkaban, and became his carer and keeper. She was extremely devoted to this duty, and was very motherly towards him, asking his father to reward him occasionally for good behaviour (even though it was no more than a byproduct of the Imperius Curse). Winky spent months to persuade Barty Sr. to let his son attend the 1994 Quidditch World Cup, and tried to suppress her acrophobia in order to keep an eye on the hidden convict. This all proved how much she loved him, despite his crimes. She was devastated when she was dismissed for failure, and became horrified when she heard of how Barty Jr. killed his father. Barty Jr., on the other hand, thought that Winky's motherly nature was only out of pity and magic-bound duty, and didn't think twice before betraying her. He launched the Dark Mark in the campsite in order to scare disloyal Death Eaters, despite her efforts to keep him safe and hidden. When Barty was forced to confess to Dumbledore, he sadistically revealed that he committed patricide, plunging Winky into great depression. This proved that despite her love and kindness, Barty was ungrateful and uncaring towards Winky. Lord Voldemort .]] In contrast with his real father, Barty Jr. saw Lord Voldemort as a father figure, and was fanatically devoted to him. In fact, Barty was willing to sacrifice and give absolutely everything to serve the Dark Lord. He also believed that if he finished off Harry Potter, he would be welcomed back, closer than a real son. In essence, Barty's loyalty is only matched by fellow Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange. Barty's loyalty has led him to know many things about Lord Voldemort that even other loyal Death Eaters, such as Bellatrix, do not. Barty knows that Voldemort had a disappointing father, that he suffered the indignity of being named after that father, and that he had the great pleasure of killing that father to ensure the rise of the dark order. These three attributes are what Barty has in common with Voldemort, and what fueled his loyalty. This also implies that Barty is aware of Voldemort's blood status as a half-blood, but doesn't care about it, in contradiction to the Death Eaters' belief of pure-blood supremacy. Death Eaters Barty held a violent hatred towards Death Eaters who has abandoned faith in Lord Voldemort. He believed that those who would not brave Azkaban for him, and denied their affiliation with him, were unforgivable. As such, Barty practically begged Harry to tell him that Voldemort punished the Death Eaters for their thirteen years of disloyalty, to hurt them for their lack of faith. An odd irony is, Barty himself once claimed that he had nothing to do with the Death Eaters, and begged his father not to incarcerate him. However, this may be because he felt that by denying his association to the Death Eaters he could escape Azkaban to locate Voldemort. Due to this fanatical loyalty held by Barty, he launched the Dark Mark into the 1994 Quidditch World Cup to frighten the Death Eaters who were levitating the Roberts family for fun, in retribution for their faithlessness, despite the risk of being caught. Also, during the year he was disguised as Alastor Moody, he spent a great deal of time intimidating former Death Eaters, Igor Karkaroff and Severus Snape, and relished the thought of being alone with them to kill them. This intimidation extended to Draco Malfoy, the son of another disloyal Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy. Despite his hatred towards them, Barty knows how to control his temper when necessary, and prevented from attacking them during his disguise as Moody. He even set aside his differences with Peter Pettigrew, one of the most disloyal Death Eaters, and the one responsible for Voldemort's initial downfall due to the information given about the whereabouts of the Potter family, in order to work together to revive the Dark Lord. Harry Potter As Harry Potter was Voldemort's most hated enemy, Barty hated him too. After Barty became more paranoid and fanatically loyal to Voldemort, Voldemort and Peter Pettigrew found Barty at his house. Voldemort freed Barty from the Imperius Curse and they planned to kill Harry. Barty was the one who put Harry's name into the Goblet of Fire, while disguised as Alastor Moody. However, Barty didn't show that he was a Death Eater, and played the role of a friendly teacher towards Harry. He was also the one who taught the Unforgivable Curses to Harry, and the first person Harry saw performing the Killing Curse. Harry also saw Barty's trial in the Pensieve, and was told by Albus Dumbledore that it was unknown if Barty was guilty or innocent. Barty helped Harry with the Tasks of the Triwizard Tournament, because he had turned the Triwizard Cup into a Portkey in order to finalize the plan to resurrect Voldemort and eliminate Harry once and for all. When Harry and Cedric Diggory touched it, they were transferred at Little Hangleton Graveyard. Cedric was killed by Peter Pettigrew, while Harry fought Voldemort and escaped. After that, Barty attempted to kill Harry, but failed, being caught by Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape and Minerva McGonagall. Barty told them the story of his imprisonment, his escape and his return to Lord Voldemort. He also told them that Voldemort would honour him as none other Death Eater. After that, Harry learned that Barty was given the Dementor's Kiss. .]] and Alice Longbottom.]] Longbottom family Barty was one of the Death Eaters who torture the aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom into insanity, in order to make them tell where was the Dark Lord hidden. After that, Frank and Alice Longbottom were permanently sent to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, and Barty was imprisoned in Azkaban along with the three other Death Eaters. In 1994, Barty met Neville Longbottom, the son of Frank and Alice, while he was disguised as Alastor Moody. When he read the name of Neville in a list, he showed much interest. He also performed the Cruciatus Curse on a spider, in front of Neville, who was shocked and frightened. However, Barty was stopped by Hermione Granger, who noted that Neville was very frightened. After that, Barty invited Neville to his office for a cup of tea, and gave him a book about plants. In fact, Barty gave the book to Neville in order to help Harry Potter, who was Neville's roommate, to win in the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament. It is unknown how Neville reacted after he learned that his Defence Against the Dark Arts proffessor was in fact the wizard who tortured his parents into insanity. .]] Albus Dumbledore Albus Dumbledore was one of the participants in Barty's trial. Dumbledore, like all of the participants, agreed to send Barty and his fellow Death Eaters in Azkaban forever. He was also shocked by wht Barty had done to the Longbottoms. In 1994, Barty and Dumbldore met again, as Barty accepted the offer Dumbledore had made to Alastor Moody, to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. Barty was disguised as Moody and went at Hogwarts, while planning to send Harry Potter to Voldemort. During the time Barty lived at Hogwarts along with Dumbledore, Barty used Occlumency, in order to protect himself from Dumbledore learning who Moody really was. In 1995, after Harry Potter returned to Hogwarts from the Little Hangleton Graveyard, Barty told Dumbledore that he would go along with Harry in his office, to help him relax. In fact, Barty wanted to kill Harry and learn what had happened at the Graveyard. Dumbledore realised that he wasn't the real Moody, and ran at Barty's office. Dumbledore stunned Barty at the time the latter was going to kill Harry. Harry noted that Dumbledore's eyes seemed like having a blue flame, and Harry realised why Dumbledore was considered at the greatest wizard of all time. After Barty's exposure, Dumbledore learned that he was given the Dementor's Kiss. Behind the scenes *Although Barty received the Dementor's Kiss and had his soul removed in 1995, it is unknown when he actually died. *Barty Crouch Jr. was played by actor David Tennant in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. David Walliams was offered the role but turned it down due to scheduling conflicts with the third season of Little Britain. *Barty's role in the film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire differs slightly from the book. In the film, he is sentenced for the same crime as the book based on Igor Karkaroff's testimony. Once caught, there is no doubt of his guilt or insanity. He does not attempt to deny his guilt, nor does he beg his father to acquit him, instead he sarcastically greets his father in a show of defiance. He has already been released from his father's control by the beginning of the story and appears in Harry's vision of Voldemort and Wormtail in Little Hangleton. After the Quidditch World Cup, Harry actually sees Barty create the Dark Mark, but does not know who he is. Barty approaches Harry, but flees when his father and the Aurors arrive. When he is unmasked, he does not reveal how he escaped, and there is no mention of him getting the Dementor's Kiss. *If he did not receive the Dementor's Kiss, this could cause a paradox, as he would have been able to be tried before or during the fifth movie, proving Harry was not lying about Voldemort's return. Although, the Ministry may simply be too biased to take what Barty would have said into account, as they consider him too deranged to trust, and Veritaserum is resistible. *It seems odd that Barty, when disguised as Alastor Moody, asks Harry if Voldemort punished the "cowards who wouldn't even brave Azkaban for him", and those who denied that they'd ever even worked for him, when he himself did those two things, and ended up screaming for his mother at the first few days of his imprisonment. There are several possibilities to his action: **Barty was once one of the many Death Eaters who served Voldemort out of fear, rather than loyalty, but after mistreatment from his father, that fear transformed to fanatical loyalty. **Barty tried to avoid prison in order to continue his search for Voldemort. **Barty feared the Dementors. **Barty, being a clever and manipulative wizard, may have known that acting terrified and innocent would later generate sympathy for his treatment, discrediting his father and preventing his ascension to Minister for Magic. *During his lesson on the Unforgivable Curses, Barty takes note of Neville Longbottom's name, looking at it on the register and at Neville intensely. He demonstrated the Cruciatus Curse – the same curse he and the Lestranges used to torture Neville's parents into insanity – on a spider directly in front of Neville, only stopping when Hermione Granger screamed at him to, noticing how much it upset Neville. Afterwards, however, Barty took Neville aside for tea and gave him a Herbology book (which he also does in the book) *In the film version, Barty Crouch Jr. has the habit of licking his lips when threatened, in a snake-like way, to which he occasionally shows while under the disguise of Alastor Moody. This action led to him giving himself away to his father following the second task of the Triwizard Tournament. *In the most sentences Barty says, while he is not disguised as Alastor Moody, he says the word "I". Appearances *''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' *''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)'' *''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game)'' *''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix *Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince '' Notes and references External links *Overanalysing the Text: The Crouch Novenna - A Nine Part Essay on the Crouch family de:Barty Crouch Jr. fr:Barty Croupton Jr. ru:Барти Крауч-младший Crouch, Bartemius, Jr. Crouch, Bartemius, Jr. Crouch, Bartemius, Jr. Crouch, Bartemius, Jr. Crouch, Bartemius, Jr. Crouch Jr. Crouch, Bartemius, Jr. Crouch, Bartemius, Jr. Crouch, Bartemius Jr. Crouch, Bartemius Jr. Crouch, Bartemius, Jr. Crouch, Bartemius, Jr.